IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 24, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s the final night in Las Vegas before we head over towards Atlanta for what is now the last set of TV tapings available. We’re on the way towards Rebellion and that likely means a lot more “show is canceled” graphics. It’s not like they have much of a better choice so it’s as good as they can do here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Sami Callihan being revealed as the Realityislost hacker and attacking Ken Shamrock, who had just been announced as the newest Hall of Fame inductee.

Opening sequence.

Willie Mack vs. Chris Bey vs. Acey Romero vs. Daga vs. Rohit Raju vs. Jake Crist vs. Cousin Jake vs. Trey

One fall to a finish and the winner is the #1 contender to the X-Division Title. It’s a brawl to start (of course) and soon it’s Romero running over Bey and Crist on his own. A backsplash crushes Bey but a double missile dropkick puts Romero on the floor. That leaves Trey and Bey to trade missed dropkicks and it’s a quick standoff. Bey knocks Trey to the floor but gets crushed by Raju’s running splash in the corner.

Jake takes Bey’s place and hits a running shoulder to Raju in the corner as the one on one sequence continues. Mack slams Crist and the standing moonsault connects. Mack’s running flip dive takes out Jake and Crist, meaning it’s Daga and Trey going back inside. Bey joins them and gets powerbombed by Daga with Raju making the save. Daga and Raju miss each other a lot so Romero replaces Raju. That means Daga tries to slam him for some reason of general stupidity, leaving Romero to go up top.

The Tower of Doom sends Romero crashing down and Daga’s top rope splash gets two. We go into the parade of strikes to the face until Trey ties up Crist’s legs and suplexes Bey at the same time. Raju makes the save but can’t tornado DDT Jake. Mack’s fireman’s carry spinebuster plants Jake instead but Daga grabs Mack in a northern lights suplex. The dives are on in a hurry but Crist breaks up Romero’s attempt. That just earns him a Pounce, setting up Romero’s big dive to take out everyone else. Back in and Jake spinebusters Crist, only to have Mack hit the Six Star Frog Splash for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: C+. There isn’t much else you can do in this kind of a match as it’s a bunch of insanity until one person finally gets the win. Mack going after Ace Austin could be interesting and it wasn’t like there was another realistic option, save for perhaps Daga. It was as good as it could have been and a nice way to start the show.

Dave Crist tries to fire up Mad Man Fulton. Jake runs in to say it’s time to get back on a winning streak. Sami Callihan is testing them you see, but Dave says no one has spoken to them in months. They won’t do the thumbs up, thumbs down because they’re waiting for Sami.

Announcers preview the show.

Moose vs. Chase Stevens

Fallout from last week’s backstage fight. Moose jumps him before the bell but No Jackhammer Needed hits the buckle. An ax kick gives Chase two and a powerslam is good for the same. Back up and No Jackhammer Needed finishes Stevens at 1:15.

Post match Moose beats him up a bit more, including some chair shots to the ribs. Moose loads up a Pillmanization of the face but Scott D’Amore comes in to say if Moose wants TNA he can turn around. Cue Suicide to take Moose out as I STILL can’t believe they want to relive the TNA days.

Rosemary is still at the bar and rants about spending two years extracting revenge from the dark side. Someone off camera says “Two years? That’s it?” and it’s….Raven. He doesn’t think much of two years of hatred. Take him for example: it’s been twenty years and sometimes he isn’t sure if he hates Tommy Dreamer or loves him. Raven describes it as “orgasmic” because it goes on forever. He can’t wait to be in the same nursing home as Dreamer so he can cut the bag on Dreamer’s IV.

Ace Austin and Reno Scum come up to Willie Mack in the back. Willie isn’t buying into the mind games because he’s taking the title. Johnny Swinger comes in to say that’s it for the Mack and Pack Connection, but the miz-arks really want to see the two of them fight for the X-Division Title. That’ll get him some rats.

Reno Scum vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz of course. A quick spinebuster plants Dez and it’s a catapult into a Death Valley Driver for a very early two. Dez gets sent into the corner before he can even take his hoodie off and there’s the Pit Stop to make it worse. A kick to the face allows the double tag to Wentz and Luster as the pace picks up. Everything breaks down and it’s Wentz being sent outside, leaving Dez to take a top rope Curb Stomp for the pin at 4:36.

Rating: D+. Just a nothing match here with Reno Scum continuing to offer almost nothing whatsoever, likely aside from working cheap. There have been very few moments where I’ve seen anything int hem and this was no exception. That being said, what the heck happened to the Rascalz? They were awesome when they came in and now they can barely ever win a match, even a clean loss like this to Reno Scum.

Another Tenille Dashwood video. Is there a point to these or are we just at the start of their version of Emmalina?

Flashback Moment of the Week: LAX beats Team 3D to win the vacant Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice 2008.

Joey Ryan gives something close to a PSA about keeping Katie Forbes safe from the Deaners.

The Deaners aren’t sure what it means to be canceled, or what toxic masculinity means.

Sami Callihan is in a small room and asks why he did what he did. Impact has made him wrestle Shamrock one on one on pay per view and that’s not cool. Shamrock was the World’s Most Dangerous Man but now that’s him, because he sees everything.

Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton vs. Sabu/Rhino

Old School Rules and Super Genie is here with Sabu and Rhino. Dave and Sabu start things off with a clothesline sending Dave to the corner. It’s off to Fulton vs. Rhino as I try to figure out why we are having tags in a match under ECW rules. Everything breaks down in a hurry and they all wind up on the floor, with the fight heading to the ramp. A chair is dropped though and Fulton sends Rhino into the corner back inside.

Rhino fights back on Dave without too much trouble and hands it back to Sabu. That means a slam from Fulton and Crist yells at the referee over a near fall. Sabu is back up with a cutter and the hot tag brings in Rhino to clean house. Genie throws in a chair so Sabu can hit Fulton, setting up a dive to the floor. Dave hits Rhino low and grabs the chair, but stops to swing at the referee. That means a Gore from Rhino to pin Dave at 8:14.

Rating: D-. So they barely used the weapons, the match was sloppy, they stopped in the middle of the brawling segment, and then Rhino pinned Crist. I know Callis wants to keep his old buddies around and give them a payday but could they get something close to decent in the ring? Or beat up less important opponents?

Su Yung uses the coffin to go to the Undead Realm to face Havok. She finds some people tied up, James Mitchell, and Havok herself. Mitchell says Yung has to go so Havok grabs a crowbar. Yung has a sword and the fight is on with Yung choking with the noose. One of the chained up men breaks free and hits Yung with a pipe and various other things to keep her down….until she cuts his throat with the sword.

Havok saves Mitchell from the save fate but gets caught with the Mandible Claw. Mitchell stops them and says Yung has proven that she should have been with him the whole time. The minions come in to grab them both though and Mitchell sends them to the Wastelands, which look like a desert.

Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie

John E. Bravo is here with Elgin and Valkyrie. Eddie and Elgin start but Tessa wants to come in instead. That means it’s off to Tessa instead, with a quick leg trip taking Taya down. A spear drops Tessa as well, but she’s right back up to face Elgin. Some shots to Elgin’s knee slow him down and it’s off to Eddie, who has to slip out of a suplex attempt.

A Bravo distraction lets Taya pull Tessa off the apron and Elgin’s pop up powerslam gets two on Eddie. Back from a break with Eddie still in trouble but turning it into a slugout with Elgin. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie a breather and the hot tag brings in Tessa to clean house. Both men save their partners from getting slammed down but Tessa hurricanranas her way out of a superbomb. Eddie comes back in for the rapid fire chops to Elgin, followed by the overhead belly to belly to put him on the floor.

Bravo gets knocked off the apron and there are the double dives to take out the villains. A Codebreaker out of the corner into a tiger driver gets two on Elgin with Taya making the save. Eddie kicks Taya to the floor but Magnum is countered into a powerbomb onto Eddie’s back. Tessa is back up with a reverse hurricanrana and tornado DDT to Elgin but Elgin blasts Tessa down. The Elgin Bomb doesn’t work on Eddie, who strikes Elgin down instead. Taya’s distraction sets up the buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb for the pin at Taya cuts Tessa off at 18:04.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting match here as Impact has figured out how to do man vs. woman without it being hard to accept (granted having Tessa and Taya can make that a lot easier). This sets Elgin up as a monster going after the title at Rebellion and I’m not sure how that whole thing would have wound up. Odds are we’ll see the match at some point and I’m curious to see how it goes, so well done on that front.

We go back to the Wastelands….and Rosemary just happens to be there. She doesn’t care what Mitchell did to them and the alliance is formed. They wind up back in Mitchell’s lair, with Rosemary putting on sunglasses and going off on her own. Mitchell tells Havok and Yung that it was just a test and they can be a unit. Mitchell stabs him in the stomach with a dagger and Mitchell dies, only to wake up in Heaven with….a cat and Abyss? Mitchell: “Who booked this s***?”

Overall Rating: C+. This show worked out rather well with most of the show working out well. They did some good stuff to get rid of Mitchell (you knew that was going to be something zany) and it was an entertaining enough show. I’m not sure what they’re going to do in four weeks when we get done with what should have been the go home show for Rebellion. This was good though, and that’s what matters most at the moment.

Results

Willie Mack b. Cousin Jake, Trey, Daga, Acey Romero, Chris Bey, Rohit Raju and Jake Crist – Six Star Frog Splash to Jake

Moose b. Chase Stevens – No Jackhammer Needed

Reno Scum b. Rascalz – Top rope curb stomp to Trey

Rhino/Sabu b. Dave Crist/Mad Man Fulton – Gore to Crist

Michael Elgin/Taya Valkyrie b. Tessa Blanchard/Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb to Edwards

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: March 10, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s a big showdown match this week as we have the fifth match in a best of five series between Eddie Edwards and Michael Elgin. The winner gets the World Title shot at Tessa Blanchard at Rebellion and that means we have something special tonight. You have to have a good main event like that so hopefully this one works. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Mad Man Fulton vs. Rhino

The Crists are at ringside….and get ejected early on for trying to interfere. With the two of them gone, Rhino shoulders him down and takes it to the floor for a ram into the apron. A clothesline hits the post though and Fulton sends him into the apron as well. Back in and Fulton pounds away in the corner, followed by a running shoulder to the ribs.

Rhino fights back up with some right hands to the head, only to get elbowed right back down for two. The chinlock (or cobra clutch double sugar hold according to Callis) goes on for a bit but a middle rope headbutt only hits mat. Rhino fights back up, avoids a clothesline and hits the Gore for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: D. This was missing on almost all counts as it was a bunch of slow pounding until the slightly more energized ending segment. They would have been better off having some kind of hardcore match because Rhino really wasn’t feeling all that energetic here. I’m hoping we have something other than Rhino fighting OVE.

Post match the Crists come back out and the beatdown is on….so SABU makes the save with a chair because ECW.

Chris Bey is coming.

Tessa Blanchard is ready to face either Eddie Edwards or Michael Elgin at Rebellion and doesn’t care who it is. She’s used to the target on her back.

We run down the rest of the show.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Rascalz

Dez and Wentz for the Rascalz here with Gama Singh at ringside for the Squad. Raju and Dez start things off with the former shoving him into the corner and posing a bit. A quick dropkick gives Wentz two and it’s Dez coming in with a slingshot hilo for his own near fall. Raju takes him into the corner though and it’s Shera coming in to start hammering away with the double chop.

We get some power as Shera drops Raju onto Dez for two and the beating continues in the corner. Dez dives over Raju and makes the hot tag to Wentz so the pace can pick up. Shera starts to clean house, including a chokebreaker to Dez. Wentz comes back in and starts firing off the kicks, with a double superkick putting Shera down. Raju gets knocked to the floor and the Final Flash gives Dez the pin at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The Squad has firmly hit their ceiling, even with Shera there as the monster. There isn’t much to get out of these tag team matches where they the teams are on a treadmill for months on end. The match was fine enough, but the Squad is nothing and the Rascalz have fallen way down from where they were.

Katie Forbes is annoyed at fans staring at her but the Deaners like her rather small gear. Joey Ryan doesn’t like their implications and a tag match is made with Ryan and Rob Van Dam vs. the Deaners being set for next week (this includes roughly half a dozen references to internet and social media fans, which isn’t as profound as they think). Ryan does make sure to check with Rob, who goes with it.

Tenille Dashwood video.

Knockouts Title: Lacey Ryan vs. Jordynne Grace

Ryan is challenging and is the next challenger from Madison Rayne. Grace gets taken down early on and Ryan drops her again with a running shoulder. That earns her a backdrop to the apron but she catches Ryan on top. A slam down gets two and grace stops charging Ryan with a boot to the face. Grace hits a running hip attack in the corner and a Vader Bomb gets two as Ryan is hanging in there.

Ryan kicks her in the head for two and goes up, only to get pulled down with a MuscleBuster (though more of a suplex than dropping straight down). A Regal Roll into a frog splash gives Ryan two more but she misses a kick to the head and gets Grace Drivered for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: B-. If Ryan doesn’t get a job out of that, I’m not sure what Impact is thinking. She looked very good here and they had a match I never would have expected. This was rather good stuff and Grace had to fight to retain the title. I’m not sure how much I want to see Grace vs. Rayne, but at least we got a good one here.

Fallah Bahh wants to win the Tag Team Titles with TJP so they can be the first ever Filipino Tag Team Champions.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Chris Sabin wins the X-Division Title in 2004.

Sabin is proud of his time in TNA and he’s ready to be the guest referee in the King of the Mountain match for the World Title at There’s No Place Like Home. Moose comes in and doesn’t understand the rules, so Sabin not so subtly explains them. I’m still trying to wrap my head around a TNA nostalgia show.

Video on the best of five series between Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards.

Taya Valkyrie is all depressed at a bar when Rosemary pops up. She doesn’t want to hear about Taya losing everything but thinks it might be the thing that connects them. After you lose everything, you’re free to do everything.

Johnny Swinger/Glenn Gilbertti vs. Willie Mack

Hold on though as the referee thinks the team has some foreign objects. Swinger has brass knuckles but gets caught, meaning he has to run from Mack for a bit. Gilbertti comes in and gets hiptossed right back to Swinger. A cheap shot from the apron lets Swinger take over as Callis tries to get Swinging Disco Balls over as the team’s name. Callis: “Can we say Disco?” A double elbow puts Mack down and the old school pummeling continues.

Gilbertti gets in a shot with a roll of quarters and it’s back to Swinger for the chinlock (plus some SHUT UP’s to the crowd). The ax handle misses so Gilbertti comes in for the YMCA Elbow. Cue Ace Austin of all people to stand in Mack’s corner. Mack is fine enough to hit the Stunner and it’s off to Austin for a spinning Swanton to Swinger. Everything breaks down and it’s an old school doe-see-doe. Mack Samoan drops Gilbertti into the standing moonsault, setting up the Fold from Austin. The Six Star finishes Gilbertti at 7:50.

Rating: C-. Well that was something. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but it certainly was something. If nothing else, it shows you how good the new generation is looking solid with Austin, Mack and Rich Swann (when he gets back) among others. They’ve needed something like this for a good while now and if they actually get somewhere with it, Impact could move forward for once.

Su Yung jumps Havok in the back and it turns into a chair duel. Yung gets the better of it, puts on the Mandible Claw, and puts her in a well placed coffin.

Swinger blames Gilbertti for the loss so Gilbertti quits. This turns into an argument over who was the leader, but Swinger wants to know what he’s supposed to do with all of these Swinging Disco Balls shirts.

It’s Gut Check time and they’re all still bad, even in a six man tag.

Realityislost glitch.

Next week: Gut Check ends and we find out who the glitch is.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

It’s the final match in the best of five series with the winner getting the World Title shot at Rebellion. You can tell it’s a big match because Josh has stats about how they’ve won their matches. Elgin powers him away to start and hits a big clothesline so we can head outside early. A Death Valley Driver on the ramp gives Elgin an early two so he hits Eddie in the face rather hard.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gets Eddie out of trouble for a second but Elgin catches him on top. That just earns Elgin a sunset bomb and we take a break. Back with Eddie elbowing him in the face, only to get backdropped HARD out to the floor. Eddie is back in and slugs away at Elgin on the apron, earning himself a lot of yelling. A kick to the head puts Elgin on the floor and he wins a slugout to really rock Elgin for the first time. Elgin grabs a DDT for two, followed by a neckbreaker over the ropes as we take another break.

Back again with the big slugout, including some rather loud shots to Eddie’s jaw. Elgin goes up and gets superplexed back down, setting up the Backpack Stunner for two more. A tiger driver is broken up so Elgin gets him up in an electric chair and drops backwards into a bridge for his own two. Just to go insane, Elgin hits a dragon superplex for another near fall, though the kickout doesn’t get the strongest reaction (because only finishers can end matches).

Eddie backflips out of a release German suplex and finally hits the tiger driver for two. Elgin is back up with a powerbomb and another hard clothesline sets up the Elgin Bomb for the real near fall. The referee gets bumped so the Boston Knee Party only gets two. Elgin grabs the Crossface but Eddie rolls over into a cradle for two, only to tap at the same time as the three count at 25:55.

Rating: B. This was probably longer than it needed to be but they beat the heck out of each other with some big moves. That dragon superplex probably should have been the finish had they had one, meaning it might not have been the best spot for a kickout. The ending wasn’t the biggest surprise but that’s not the worst idea in the world. Both guys have benefited from the feud so having a draw is a good way to protect both of them. And give us the triple threat, because that’s what you get in wrestling.

Post match Scott D’Amore comes out because there’s confusion. Tessa, triple threat, she’ll take em both.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event and the Knockouts Title match were the only things worthwhile on this show as the rest ranged between weak and rather bad. They did the important thing though by getting the pay per view main event set up, but they need to set up a few more things on the way. Assuming the show actually takes place as scheduled at this point. Either way, they had a good main event and title match, but the rest of the show dragged it pretty far down.

Results

Rhino b. Mad Man Fulton – Gore

Rascalz b. Desi Hit Squad – Final Flash to Shera

Jordynne Grace b. Lacey Ryan – Grace Driver

Willie Mack/Ace Austin b. Glenn Gilbertti/Johnny Swinger – Six Star Frog Splash to Gilbertti

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin went to a draw

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 25, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

Sacrifice has come and gone with no title changes because no title was on the line in the main event. My guess is that’s so they could avoid any kind of spoilers on the taping cycle and while that makes sense, it didn’t make the stakes seem that high on Saturday. We should be building towards Rebellion now so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a clip of World Champion Tessa Blanchard defeating X-Division Champion Ace Austin at Sacrifice. Now Ace wants a title match so managed granted it, but for his title and not hers. Makes sense.

Opening sequence.

Rob Van Dam vs. Daga

Katie Forbes is at ringside and the fans are behind hometown boy RVD. Daga kicks him to the floor to start and nails a suicide dive, only to get slammed down. Back in and Rob crotches him on the ropes for the kick to the face as Katie is on a Twitter blocking spree. Rolling Thunder is loaded up but Rob rolls outside to kiss Katie instead.

Rating: C-. It was starting to get somewhere but at the same time, there is only so much that Rob can do in the ring at the moment. He’s gotten older and is nowhere near as explosive, but points to them for coming up with a way to hide the fact that he just isn’t as athletic anymore. There is going to be a rematch here, perhaps in a cage where Van Dam can’t run, but this didn’t exactly make me interested in seeing it.

Jordynne Grace issues an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. Madison Rayne comes up but doesn’t want to hear anything from Grace until she has won the title five times. Guidance is offered and Madison promises to find a suitable opponent tonight.

Rohit Raju vs. Zachary Wentz

The rest of the Desi Hit Squad/the Rascalz are here. This is fallout from Raju costing the Rascalz the Tag Team Titles at Sacrifice because they didn’t get a title shot. They fight over a headlock to start until Wentz takes him down with a front facelock. Back up and a slugout actually goes to Raju, who takes him down with a running knee to the head.

A suplex gets two and we take a break. Back with Wentz kicking away, including an enziguri, followed by a Stunner over the middle rope. Raju grabs a Downward Spiral for two more but Wentz is right back with a cutter driver. A brawl on the floor distracts Wentz though, allowing Raju to avoid a Swanton and hit a top rope double stomp for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C. Just another match between members of teams here and that’s not enough to make me care about them that much. The Rascalz are a fun act but then you have the Hit Squad, who are as generic of a group of heels as you can get. The match was technically fine, but trying to get me interested in a Hit Squad match is like trying to get me interested in a farmhouse in Gary, Indiana.

Post match the Realityislost/ICU video pops up and the Squad notices it.

Ace Austin doesn’t understand why Tessa gets a title shot first. Don’t worry though because he’ll win tonight and become #1 contender. Tessa may be undeniable but he is inevitable.

OVE, minus Sami Callihan, say they’re not done.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Miranda Alize

Alize is challenging and has Madison Rayne in her corner. A charge at Grace doesn’t go well as the champ pulls her down, only to get caught in a headscissors. Alize gets two off a forearm as Madison says Alize can’t beat Grace without covering her. I love it when wrestlers try to sound smart but miss the point entirely. Back up and the Grace Driver is blocked and Alize gets two off a cutter. Not that it matters as the second Grace Driver attempt retains the title at 4:05.

Rating: C-. Alize was fine here but it looks like we’re coming up on Grace vs. Rayne for the title. That’s fine for a first title program for Grace as Rayne will give her a good match before coming up short. Grace is the kind of champion where it’s going to take a special effort to get the title off of her and that might take some time. Decent enough match for its time.

The North isn’t sweating TJP and Fallah Bahh next week. The two of them want to be like the North because they are tag team wrestling around here.

Chris Bey is coming.

Jessika Havok is looking for someone but Rosemary finds her. Rosemary isn’t happy with Havok joining up with James Mitchell again so next week, Havok can face Su Yung in a no DQ match.

From Dayton, Ohio at a Pro Wrestling Revolver event.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards

Match #4 in a best of five series with Elgin up 2-1. Elgin grabs a headlock to start and then shoulders him down but Eddie snaps off a belly to belly. That’s fine with Elgin, who hits a slingshot elbow to the jaw to put Eddie down again. Elgin chops him down and hits a sliding elbow, followed by some slams to show off the power. It takes a bit too long to go to the top though and Eddie brings him down with a superplex.

The Backpack Stunner is broken up so Eddie settles for a German suplex. Elgin blasts him with a clothesline though and we take a break. Back with Eddie flipping out of another German suplex and hitting the low superkick to put them both down. Eddie’s tiger bomb gets two but he misses the moonsault. Some rollups give Eddie two but he has to avoid a sliding elbow, allowing him to roll Elgin up again, this time for the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B-. A lot of the interest has fallen away from these matches but that’s going to happen with the amount of times they’ve had it out there. The fifth match will at least have some stakes to it, but it’s kind of telling that they moved it to another show so the fans wouldn’t get burned out on it. That being said, there are far worse things they can do and the matches have been solid. Just wrap it up soon.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Jeff Hardy wins the World Title from Mr. Anderson at Against All Odds 2011. The graphic says 2010, as Impact does the most Impact thing ever by not even being able to celebrate their own history without making a mistake.

Scott D’Amore and Petey Williams are happy at the thought of the TNA show on April 3. Moose comes up to say TNA is dead so let it be dead. Why celebrate people like Suicide and Chris Sabin? Petey: “We were all actual champions.” Violence is implied.

Johnny Swinger annoys Willie Mack again but here’s Disco Inferno to say he’ll team with Swinger instead.

Video on Gut Check. Thank goodness this isn’t a full on in-arena segment again. Some of these names are from OVW.

X-Division Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin

Ace is defending and only his title is on the line. Tessa starts fast with some running dropkicks, including one in the corner for two. A rollup gets the same but Ace grabs a backbreaker as we take a break. Back with Ace hitting a spinning elbow to the face for two and it’s off to a bow and arrow hold. Tessa fights out of the corner and snaps off a headscissors to the floor, followed by the big dive.

Back in and Ace grabs a gutbuster to cut Tessa off again and we hit the reverse chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry so Ace kicks her in the back a few times instead. Now it’s something like a dragon sleeper but Tessa is up in a hurry to start slugging away. A running hurricanrana sets up a tornado DDT but here’s Taya Valkyrie to jump Tessa for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: C. So that’s all you can ask for with the ending as Tessa has already proven she can beat Ace so there’s no need to have her win the X-Division Title here. Taya is someone with history against Tessa so it’s not out of the question to have that be the next title challenger. Given that either Edwards or Elgin is facing Tessa at Rebellion, this is going to be a one off against a challenger that beat Tessa before but she has since surpassed. It’s Ultimate Warrior defending against Rick Rude in 1990 and that’s….probably me putting way too much thought into this.

Taya beats Tessa up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show felt pretty flat and while it set up stuff for the future, there wasn’t much of a fire to the whole thing. There also wasn’t a great or even very good match on the show, leaving is just kind of there instead of anything noteworthy. Not a terrible show or anything close, but nothing you need to see here.

Results

Daga b. Rob Van Dam via countout

Rohit Raju b. Zachary Wentz – Top rope double stomp

Jordynne Grace b. Miranda Alize – Grace Driver

Eddie Edwards b. Michael Elgin – Rollup

Tessa Blanchard b. Ace Austin via DQ when Taya Valkyrie interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 18, 2020
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re off to a different taping cycle now and things are getting interesting around here. Last week’s show without a bunch of the luchador guest stars was an improvement and if they can keep that up, we might be in a good place. If nothing else it’s the go home show for Sacrifice, so maybe things can get more interesting in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh Alexander vs. TJP

This should be good and Ethan Page/Fallah Bahh are the respective seconds. They grapple to start and it’s a voiceover, which sounds as unnatural as you can get, about how Ethan Page’s promotion will soon be airing on the Impact Wrestling network. TJP hits a dropkick and snaps off a headscissors but Alexander runs him over again. With the striking not working, TJP grabs a quickly broken Octopus Hold as Alexander tosses him down without much effort.

Some arm cranking lets Alexander hammer away as the commentators make fun of the TNA name that they are bringing back for Wrestlemania weekend. A Regal Roll out of the corner is countered into a crucifix to give TJP two as he can’t keep any momentum. TJP spins him down into a cross armbreaker but gets stacked up for a near fall and the break. A slingshot dive to the floor sets up the slingshot dropkick as Alexander is in trouble for the first time.

Alexander slaps on a swinging sleeper but TJP slips out for a suplex and they’re both down. It’s Alexander up first with a spinning torture rack slam for two more, meaning frustration is setting in. TJP spinwheel kicks him into the ropes but walks into a German suplex. That just earns Alexander a hurricanrana into a cross armbreaker, which is broken up with a quick Project Ciampa for two more. The kneebar sends Alexander over to the rope so he grabs a sleeper, only to have TJP backflip into the cover for the pin at 14:49.

Rating: B. These two worked very well together and got to showcase themselves in a heck of a back and forth match. The Tag Team Title match should be fun, with Bahh offering a weird face monster vibe and TJP being one of the best technicians in the company at the moment. Put them in there against the best tag team in the company and we should be in for heck of a tag match.

Willie Mack is talking to someone backstage when Johnny Swinger comes in to ask if this is a trio. That’s not the case so Swinger thinks he and Mack need to work on their chemistry with some riz-eps.

Michael Elgin is ready to beat Eddie Edwards again if that’s what it takes to teach him a lesson.

Announcers preview for the rest of the show.

Willie Mack vs. Johnny Swinger

Swinger is surprised by this being a singles match instead of the two teaming together. The offer of a handshake earns Swinger a pair of atomic drops, followed by a right hand out of a headlock. Swinger snaps him throat first across the top and the falling headbutt into the low blow has Mack down. Back up and Mack punches him out of the air and it’s the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. The Stunner sets up the Six Star frog splash to give Mack the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Nothing much to see here but they kept it short and didn’t do anything wacky here so I can’t complain. Mack continues to roll and Swann’s ankle will be healed up soon enough, though I’m not sure if there is a need to continue the team if Mack keeps going this strong. Swinger continues to be someone amusing enough, as long as he stays at the bottom of the card like this.

We look back at Jordynne Grace finally winning the Knockouts Title last week.

Here’s Madison Rayne to complain about Grace not belonging in the #1 contenders match in the first place. But that’s enough about Grace, because a legend like Madison needs to advance the legacy of the Knockouts. She is starting an open challenge series and here’s the first opponent.

Madison Rayne vs. Mazzerati

Rayne shoves her in the face to start so Mazzerati grabs three straight rollups for one each. A dropkick sends Rayne into the ropes but she’s right back with a northern lights suplex and some knees to the face. Mazzerati forearms her in the corner but walks into a cutter for two. Cross Rayne finishes Mazzerati at 3:16.

Rating: D. Just a step above a squash here as Rayne never felt in danger once. I know Rayne has been surpassed by a lot of the division but she can still have a decent enough match against the right opponent. The problem is she didn’t have one here and the match was little more than filler.

Jordynne Grace is proud of everything she has done and will be a fighting champion, starting against Jessika Havok at Sacrifice. John E. Bravo comes in after Grace leaves and praises Taya Valkyrie, even giving us a highlight video on her Knockouts Title reign.

Post break, Taya yells at Bravo over the video and promises to get the title back.

Flashback Moment of the Week: D’Angelo Dinero beats Mr. Anderson to become #1 contender at Against All Odds 2010.

Rob Van Dam has to calm down Katie Forbes over fans’ comments. Daga comes in and wants a fight so they’ll do it next week.

Tommy Dreamer, Trey Miguel and Tessa Blanchard are ready to win tonight, with Dreamer managing to reference ECW. Tessa says may the better man win at Sacrifice, even if it’s a woman.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

Match #3 in a Best of Five series with Elgin up 2-0. Eddie starts fast with a suplex to the floor and a suicide dive. Back in and a sunset flip gives Eddie two but Elgin suplexes him over with ease. A sliding lariat puts both of them down and Elgin hits a Death Valley Driver onto the apron.

Back in and Elgin hits Eddie so hard that it seems to hurt his own shoulder. Eddie makes the comeback with some strikes, only to get hit in the face for his efforts. They head outside again and Elgin cuts off a comeback bid with a heck of a clothesline but the powerbomb on the ramp is countered into a hurricanrana. The Boston Knee Party rocks Elgin again but they both beat the count back in.

A top rope double stomp to the back gives Eddie two, followed by Elgin grabbing a Falcon Arrow for the same. The Crossface doesn’t work so Eddie settles for a running knee to the head to put Elgin down again. Another clothesline gives Elgin another two and he grabs a superbomb off the top. Instead of covering though, Elgin tries another powerbomb, allowing Edwards to small package him for the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B. These two just work well together and that’s all they needed to do here. The story has some more legs to it and they are pretty clearly setting up a fifth match. That’s what makes the most sense, though for some reason I wouldn’t be stunned to see Elgin wrap it up next time. Either way, at least they did more rather good stuff here and that’s all you should expect from them.

Rhino vs. Dave Crist

Moose is on commentary. Rhino charges into the corner to start but gets choked on the rope for his effort. Crist misses a middle rope backsplash though and Rhino slugs away. A Jake Crist distraction doesn’t work and Rhino Gores Dave down for the pin at 2:28.

Jessika Havok arrives and Susie pops up behind her, only to disappear. Havok sees a sign that says “your time has come”. Well in some different spelling but you get the idea.

Chris Bey has signed. Good for him and good for Impact.

Sacrifice rundown.

The same weird feed ICU/Realityislost deal interrupts the backstage interviewer.

Tommy Dreamer/Trey Miguel/Tessa Blanchard vs. Ace Austin/Reno Scum

Thornstowe and Miguel start things off, meaning it’s an armdrag to put Thornstowe down in a hurry. Tessa comes in with a hurricanrana before it’s off to Dreamer for a shot to the arm. Ace and Miguel come in so Ace is right back to the corner for the tag off to Luster. That means a showdown with Dreamer who…..yeah no one has ever wanted to see this.

Everything breaks down and it’s a triple Bionic elbow to send the villains outside. Back from a break with a cheap shot from the apron letting Luster clothesline Dreamer. That means it’s Dreamer getting caught in the corner, including a Pit Stop. The chinlock goes on but Luster misses the middle rope headbutt. Trey comes back in and gets pulled into the corner, meaning it’s off to a chinlock.

Ace holds Trey down so Luster can stomp on him but Trey bulldogs his way out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Tessa to forearm away and a tornado DDT plants Luster. Ace gets caught between Tessa and Trey, with the latter kicking him into a cutter from Tessa. Austin kicks Tessa down and Trey hits a big corkscrew dive onto almost everyone else. On the way back in, Ace kicks the rope into a low blow on Trey, setting up the Fold for the pin at 16:34.

Rating: C. What a relief that they had Trey take the fall instead of Dreamer. This did what it needed to do without having Tessa take a fall so I can’t complain all that much. It just wasn’t a very good match and felt like a lot of multi person tags that you would see in such a spot. Not a bad match by any means, but really just a match to set up another one.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and Elgin vs. Edwards more than carry this show and it was a rather nice week of TV as a result. Sacrifice is looking pretty good on paper, though I’m not sure what they are going to be doing after that. It seems early to build towards Rebellion, but we can worry about that later. Good show this week as the company is starting to get something going.

Results

TJP b. Josh Alexander – Rollup

Willie Mack b. Johnny Swinger – Six Star frog splash

Madison Rayne b. Mazzerati – Cross Rayne

Eddie Edwards b. Michael Elgin – Small package

Rhino b. Dave Crist – Gore

Ace Austin/Reno Scum b. Tommy Dreamer/Trey Miguel/Tessa Blanchard – Fold to Miguel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: February 11, 2020
Location: Fronton Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

We continue our trip in Mexico as well as the road to Sacrifice, which is turning into an In Your House style show. That’s a good idea for Impact given how infrequently they do regular pay per views around here. The big deal this time around is Jordynne Grace challenging Taya Valkyrie for the Knockouts Title. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards

Match #2 in a Best of Five series with Elgin leading 1-0. Elgin slugs away to start and gets two off a belly to back suplex. Eddie’s rolling German suplex doesn’t work so well so he grabs a crucifix for two instead. What looked to be a top rope hurricanrana attempt is countered into a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Edwards gets dropped back first onto the apron and Elgin tells him to bring it on. A hard clothesline gets two on Eddie but he counters a failed superplex attempt into a failed sunset bomb attempt.

The Elgin Bomb is countered as well so Elgin forearms him in the face. Eddie is right back with a tiger bomb for two so Elgin rolls outside, with Eddie hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Eddie gets two off a super hurricanrana but Elgin takes him down by the arm. The Crossface is countered and Eddie snaps off a German suplex, only to miss the Boston Knee Party. The buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb finishes Eddie at 10:47.

Rating: B-. These two always work well together and this should set up three more matches between the two of them. Seeing Eddie as the underdog against the monster should be fun as they have some chemistry. Hopefully we get some better stuff out of them, though this one was quite good in its own right.

Video on Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace.

Taya says she’s ready and she’s used to having no one believing in her.

Man Man Fulton vs. Daga

Daga starts fast with the kicks to the head before avoiding some stomps. Fulton shouts at him and blocks a hurricanrana but gets sent to the floor anyway. The suicide dive connects and we take an early break. Back with Daga getting choked on the mat and ropes, followed by Fulton’s release German suplex to drop him on his head. Daga Hulks Up though and hammers away before snapping Fulton’s throat across the top.

A running double stomp gets two on Fulton but he’s right back with a swinging chokeslam. Fulton doesn’t let go and hits a regular chokeslam, only to have Daga pop up with a Death Valley Driver. Cue the Crists so Daga hits a running corkscrew dive but the distraction lets Fulton get back up. Daga’s springboard DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex with Daga landing on his head (that looked bad) for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: C. Daga is someone who can do his thing very well while Fulton is starting to gel as the monster. That being said, the ending was downright nasty looking and it wouldn’t shock me if they wrapped it up early. Hopefully Daga is ok because he’s getting better around here and a feud with OVE could be interesting.

Moose is getting a massage and wants some work on his, ahem, lower back because Rhino is a bad pain down there. Rhino takes the masseuse’s place and beats Moose up.

Fallah Bahh vs. Ethan Page

TJP and Josh Alexander are here as well. Fans: “GOO GOO GAGA!” Bahh busts out some cartwheels to start and hits a running splash in the corner as Page wasn’t quite ready for this much athleticism. Alexander offers a distraction though and Page kicks Bahh out to the floor. Back in and Bahh shrugs off the shots to the head, meaning it’s Page being sent into the corner for the running hip attack. Alexander breaks up the Banzai Drop so TJP flip dives onto him, leaving Bahh to small package Page for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C-. Bahh continues to surprise me as there is no reason for him to be able to do something like that. He pulled it off here though and that was one of the bigger surprises that you could have imagined here. The North vs. TJP/Bahh should be a fun little match too as TJP and Bahh have some shockingly good chemistry together.

James Mitchell wants Jessika Havok to help him find Su Yung. They find Susie and Mitchell is very happy, saying the family is reunited and everything can be better now. Susie follows them but seems to morph into Su.

Rob Van Dam vs. Joey Ryan

Katie Forbes is here with Rob and let’s get this over with as fast as possible. Ryan oils up and tells Rob to touch it but Rob poses and shoves him instead. We get a staredown but hang on because Katie needs to come in for kisses and dancing. The jiggling distracts Joey and Rob kicks him down, with commentary calling out the lack of wrestling for the first three minutes.

Rob kicks him down but won’t use Rolling Thunder so Joey is up with a dropkick to the floor. Back in and Rob pokes him in the eyes and puts him on the middle of the top rope for a jumping kick to the face. Rob loads up Rolling Thunder again but goes outside to see Katie again. That means a dive from Ryan before they head back inside where Ryan makes him touch it. The Plex is countered though as Rob kicks him in the head, setting up the Five Star for the pin at 7:26.

Rating: D-. I’d still like to emphasize that this is the best thing they can do with Rob Van Dam, the biggest star this company has. The Joey Ryan stuff has its place and I don’t think it’s on this show. The problem is the same thing you get with most comedy stuff: how many times can he do the same shtick? We’ve covered this so many times before and it’s not like anything new (or good) is added. If you have to do this, find someone else besides Van Dam.

Su Yung is dragging Mitchell by the neck with a noose. Mitchell blacks out and wakes up in….I think h***?

From Sacrifice 2014: Eric Young retains the World Title over Magnus (Nick Aldis). Yeah remember when THAT was a thing? They showed a lot more of the match here than usual.

Johnny Swinger has all of his cheating weapons ready to help Willie Mack against Shera. Mack tells him to stay right there.

Willie Mack vs. Shera

Gama and Rohit Raju are here. They chop it out in the corner but Raju comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Swinger, save, tag match.

Willie Mack/Johnny Swinger vs. Desi Hit Squad

Swinger gets taken into the corner to start and it’s Shera pounding him down. That’s it for the offense though as Swinger gets over for the tag off to Mack as the fans don’t seem thrilled. A Samoan drop into the standing moonsault crushes Raju and Shera gets double teamed in the corner. Mack doesn’t like the idea of a double clothesline with Swinger so Gama pulls Mack to the floor. That leaves Shera to Sky High Swinger at 3:20.

Rating: D. See, notice what they did here: the whole thing, including the first match, was about as long as the Van Dam vs. Ryan match, including a commercial. Breaking it up like that was a bit of a help, plus Swinger is more entertaining than Ryan. They kept it short and didn’t waste the top guy in the company while keeping Mack busy despite Rich Swann being injured. It’s still not good, but it’s also not as annoying so upgrade….maybe?

Tessa Blanchard isn’t worried about her (non-title….for some reason) match with Ace Austin. Ace comes in to say Tessa is never going to earn daddy’s approval, but he likes women with daddy issues. Tessa beats him up.

Next week: Ace Austin/Reno Scum vs. Tessa Blanchard/Trey Miguel/Tommy Dreamer. They’re trolling us, right?

The announcers are cut off by another Realityislost video, though they acknowledge this one.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace

Taya is defending and has John E Bravo with her. Grace gets jumped at the bell and there’s the running hip attack in the corner. Bravo chokes Grace with the stuffed dog and we take an early break. Back with more of the same but this time Grace gets in a suplex to put Taya on the floor. That means the required suicide dive but Bravo shoves Grace off the top. Somehow the referee is oblivious to this, with commentary pointing out how bad that really is.

Bravo chokes even more, with commentary comparing it to the Houston Astros sign stealing ordeal. Grace is back up with a clothesline and some slams look to set up the Grace Driver. It’s too early for that though as Taya heads to the apron and manages to powerbomb Grace onto the steps (strategically placed by Bravo).

Taya takes her to the stage for Road To Valhalla as Grace is looking a bit done. That’s only good for a nine count as Grace staggers back in to beat the count. Grace is fine enough to Muscle Buster Taya for two but Taya grabs a Bubba Bomb into a cross armbreaker of all things. That’s reversed into a Crossface (minus the arm trap, making it more of a Bank Statement) but Bravo pulls Taya to the rope.

A Vader Bomb gets two with Bravo pulling the referee so Grace pulls Bravo in. Taya spears him by mistake but Bravo gets on top of her to block the top rope backsplash. It turns out that means very little as it just crushes Taya even worse, setting up the Grace Driver to end Taya’s reign at 17:17.

Rating: B-. I can’t complain about the interference too much as Grace won (as she should have) and it’s a case of living by the sword and dying by the sword for Taya, who kept the title because of all the cheating in the first place. It makes sense to put the title on Grace here as Taya was completely out of challengers. Good match too, as the Bravo stuff was the right way to go and they got the ending right, which is what matters most.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show this week as they focused more on their own people instead of all of the guest stars. They needed a show to move some stories forward and that’s what we got here. I liked the main event for the feel good title change and Eddie vs. Elgin (probably) three more times sounds good. Just get rid of the Ryan vs. Van Dam stuff and give us more of the good and we might have something around here.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb

Mad Man Fulton b. Daga – Northern lights suplex

Fallah Bahh b. Ethan Page – Small package

Rob Van Dam b. Joey Ryan – Five Star Frog Splash

Willie Mack b. Shera via DQ when Rohit Raju interfered

Desi Hit Squad b. Willie Mack/Johnny Swinger – Sky High to Swinger

Jordynne Grace b. Taya Valkyrie – Grace Driver

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Hard To Kill
Date: January 12, 2020
Location: The Bomb Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Don Callis, Josh Matthews

It’s back to pay per view with another big show and the card looked pretty good coming in. However, news has since broken about Rich Swann hurting his ankle and not likely being able to wrestle, plus the Tessa Blanchard controversy over her not being a very nice person. Hopefully they can overcome everything and have a great show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on Tessa Blanchard challenging Sami Callihan for the World Title, in what should be a pretty obvious ending. They’ve made no secret of the fact that this is a big coronation and while that might take away a little something, it can be nice to see where things are going and then get there.

Ken Shamrock vs. Mad Man Fulton

Shamrock is coming to the ring while Josh is still talking about the opening. The Crists are here with Fulton and this is fallout from Shamrock vs. Callihan. Shamrock starts with some strikes to the leg and face but Fulton wrestles him down and stomps away in the corner as an insane monster is known to do.

Shamrock’s kneebar doesn’t last long as Fulton shoves him away, only to miss a big boot. The crotching on the ropes lets Shamrock hammer away, only to get pulled down into a cross armbreaker over the ropes, because Fulton can do that. Fulton rolls outside so Shamrock dives onto him. That’s caught so Shamrock has to slip out and hit a German suplex on the floor, setting up a knockdown to Jake Crist.

The Crists get knocked down again and that’s an ejection to make it man vs. monster. Fulton gets in a shot of his own and starts stomping on the arm before switching to a chokeslam. He tries another one but Shamrock takes him down with a Kimura to escape. The shoulder gets popped and Fulton screams but Shamrock lets go for some reason. Fulton wants to fight anyway and something like a one armed powerbomb gives him two. Shamrock grabs something like the Rings of Saturn for the tap at 9:24.

Rating: C-. What an odd opener and what a not great choice for the win. Fulton is a monster and your way to treat him as one is to have him lose via submission? I know Shamrock is someone who can offer some star power but fans already know who he is. Why do you need to give him a win over someone whose status is hurt more than most by a loss?

The announcers run down the card. For the life of me I don’t get why they do this. Just in case someone casually bought the pay per view to see what they might get to see?

We recap the X-Division Title match. Trey Miguel is the #1 contender so Ace Austin is hitting on his mom in one of the most bizarre methods of building a title match that I can remember in recent memory. It’s a personal one and they’re both selling it to set up a good feud.

X-Division Title: Trey Miguel vs. Ace Austin

Austin is defending and Trey takes him down at the bell, meaning it’s an early chase around the ring. Back in and Trey hits a spear before kicking Austin outside again. A 619 on the apron hits Austin in the head and there’s a middle rope moonsault to get in another knockdown. Ace gets in a few shots of his own and busts out a Space Flying Tiger Drop to take over.

Trey finally comes back with some clotheslines and a kick to the head, setting up a reverse suplex into a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up and a bottom rope springboard Downward Spiral gets two on the champ. Ace gets up a knee in the corner though and Trey charges into a springboard spinning kick to the face. That doesn’t seem to bother Trey, who hits a 619 in the corner, only to get crotched on top. The Fold retains the title at 12:24.

Rating: C. Kind of an abrupt finish but Ace getting pushed like this is a very good thing. He’s one of my favorite guys in the entire promotion right now and I could go for more of his horrible mind games. This one might not even be done and that’s not the worst idea. Good enough match here, and some more fire from Trey could make it even better.

Post match Ace hits on Mama Miguel but gets jumped by Trey. Even the Rascalz have to come out and help pull him off.

ODB’s new food truck will be ready in the Spring and she thanks all of the fans for having her back.

We recap the Knockouts Title match. Taya Valkyrie is defending, having held the title longer than anyone in history. Jordynne Grace is ready to take it from her but ODB has been added to the mix and things might not be that simple.

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jordynne Grace vs. ODB

Taya is defending and has John E. Bravo with him. ODB starts with a double noggin knocker of all things and Taya is sent outside early on. The other two head to the apron for a slugout with Grace getting the better of things by knocking ODB to the floor. Taya takes ODB’s place inside but ODB pulls Grace to the floor for the fall away slam on the ramp. Back in and Taya chokes ODB and doesn’t seem happy with the FOOD TRUCK chants.

More choking in the corner gives Taya two and a curb stomp into the STF gives us a Cena/Rollins finisher kit. Grace is back in so Taya tries to work on her shoulder, only to get lifted up with straight power. ODB breaks that up to put everyone down though I’d give it ten seconds before it’s back to one on one.

A spinebuster gives Grace two on Taya and a German suplex is good for the same with ODB making both saves. Taya kicks Grace in the head for two with ODB making a third save. Grace pulls ODB off the top and hits a top rope backsplash for the same with Taya having to make a save. Everyone is down again until the Grace Driver plants ODB. It’s Bravo with the distraction though, allowing Taya to steal the pin and retain at 11:37.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was almost every triple threat match you can imagine. The wrestling wasn’t all that great and Taya escaping after someone else hit their finisher was what I guessed for the finish. Anytime you think the same way I do in a finishing sequence, it’s probably not a good sign, which was the case here too. Grace probably gets the title soon though, and it’s not like more Taya is a bad thing.

Katie Forbes is all over Rob Van Dam and is sure that he’ll win because he’s so handsome. Daga walks by and Van Dam thinks he’s a fan in a great touch. Sex is implied but we need a video package first.

Video on Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage, with Rob suggesting that Cage has copied all of his moves. Cage is a big Van Dam fan but is ready to show how great he is on his own.

Brian Cage vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam has Forbes with him, plus new music which features him saying his initials and name several times. Cage high fives fans around the ring but Katie’s girlfriend (just go with it) grabs his hand so Rob can jump him from behind. A few rams into the post has Cage’s shoulder busted up and Rob hits a springboard kick to the face, meaning it’s time for a few bows.

Rob Van Dam vs. Daga

Van Dam gets in an early chair shot but the rolling monkey flip is broken up with a dropkick. Daga hits a few dropkicks to the floor so Katie climbs onto Rob to check on him. They head back inside with Daga missing a top rope dropkick, allowing Rob to roll him up for two. A fireman’s carry gutbuster into a suplex gives Daga two but Rob is right back up with a kick to the face. The Five Star finishes Daga in a hurry at 4:11.

Rating: D. What in the world was the point of this? Did they not know that Cage was hurt or something? They really couldn’t have just had Daga go out there and do a longer match? I have no idea how this was their best option but egads it really didn’t work. Daga vs. Van Dam would have been fine and I get that Cage was leaving, but dang this was a major disappointment.

Post match Rob celebrates with the two girlfriends before watching them dance together.

Sami Callihan isn’t granting interviews.

We recap Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards. Eddie has the Call Your Shot Trophy (Money in the Bank for any title) and Elgin is willing to do whatever it takes to get the World Title. He has treated Eddie rather badly backstage and beaten him in a regular (and awesome) match, so now it’s for the trophy.

Michael Elgin vs. Eddie Edwards

Eddie starts fast but gets forearmed in the face early on. Elgin gets knocked outside for the suicide dive so Elgin forearms him down again. Stick with what works I guess. A superkick puts Eddie down again, only to have him come back with chops. Eddie tries another suicide dive but gets forearmed out of the air again, setting up a posting to make it even worse.

Back in and Elgin hits a reverse jawbreaker (as in to the back of the neck, meaning it’s not a jawbreaker), followed by a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. The neck crank goes on but Eddie fights up and manages to suplex both Elgin and himself out to the floor. Eddie is back up with the suicide dive to send Elgin flying into the barricade.

Back in and Elgin counters the Boston Knee Party with a spinebuster before no selling Eddie’s snap German suplex. Elgin runs him over with a clothesline for two more and another forearm drops Eddie again. They slug it out for a good bit until Eddie knocks him down with a clothesline.

Elgin is right back with some superkicks and a release German superplex (egads, though it’s similar to a really high moonsault and a bit safer than it looks). Splash Mountain gets two on Eddie but he’s right back with some shots to the knee. Elgin Crossfaces him to cut that off but that’s broken up in a hurry as well. With the holds not working, Elgin goes with the power in the form of a buckle bomb, only to have the Elgin Bomb reversed into a sunset flip to give Eddie the pin at 19:53.

Rating: B+. This was your physical slugout match of the night with Elgin beating the heck out of him as Eddie had to try and hang in there. Elgin got frustrated by Eddie kicking out every single time, allowing Eddie to survive until he could catch Elgin going too far. They beat the fire out of each other and had an awesome match as a result. Good stuff, as you had to expect.

Rhino is ready for the spear vs. the Gore. Moose likes to call his spear the No Jackhammers Needed, so Rhino is going to show him the no f**** given.

We recap Moose vs. Rhino. Moose wants to prove that he’s the best all around athlete and has been going after the older guys, including Rhino. Therefore, it’s a battle of the spears which is a fine enough idea.

Moose vs. Rhino

No DQ. Moose, in Randy Savage gear, starts an exchange of elbows and knocks Rhino outside. An early spear misses Rhino though and he falls outside, only to grab a chair to hit Rhino in the back. They fight on the ramp but Moose charges into a backdrop to make him cringe. Back to ringside and Rhino gets posted, meaning it’s time for a table.

Moose can’t powerbomb him off the apron though, instead charging into a powerbomb from Rhino to put him through the table in the big crash. That’s good for two back inside and it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs and trashcan lids. Moose gets the better of that though with some shots to the back putting Rhino down. A top rope elbow gets two on Rhino but Moose tries again, allowing Rhino to chair him on the top.

That means a superplex onto the pile of chairs for two so Rhino grabs another table. It takes a long time to set it up though and Moose hits a running dropkick in the corner. Rhino clotheslines him right back down and hits the Gore through the table, but also through the referee. Another referee comes out to count a delayed two but Moose hits him low. No Jackhammers Needed finishes Rhino at 12:27.

Rating: C+. They had a nice brawl here and that’s what they were hoping to do. The match was what it needed to be with the only logical ending, as there was no reason to do anything more than have Moose break a sweat and then win in the end. It was an entertaining fight and now Moose needs to move on towards the World Title scene. He’s been chasing the thing for so long that it has to happen sooner rather than later.

We recap the North vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack. Swann and Mack have been chasing the titles for months and are the new #1 contenders so the North has tried to split them up. Now none of that matters though because Swann has hurt his ankle and can’t wrestle.

Swann isn’t even cleared to stand at ringside on crutches so Mack is on his own. He’s got this.

Tag Team Titles: Willie Mack vs. The North

The North is defending in a handicap match. Alexander starts for the team but walks over to Page for the tag, followed by another tag to set up the double teaming. Mack shrugs that off and hits the swinging slam on Alexander, plus an enziguri to put him on the floor. Page is there for a distraction though and the champs take over with a cheap shot from behind. The chinlock goes on as we see Swann watching from backstage.

Mack fights up and hits a DDT out of the corner, setting up some running corner clotheslines. The Samoa drop into the standing moonsault gets two on Alexander and a running big boot in the corner makes it worse. There’s an exploder suplex for the same but Page is back in with the double Neutralizer for two of his own.

They head to the floor and take Mack up, only to have him knock Alexander onto Page’s shoulders. That means a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer to Alexander, followed by the frog splash for two with Page pulling the referee. Page’s request for a DQ is denied so Mack hits him with a Stunner, only to have Alexander come back with the assisted spinebuster to retain at 10:34.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as there was only so much that they could do given the circumstances. Mack and Swann could have had a classic match here but with Mack having to be in there on his own, their options were a bit limited. They did what they could here though and it wound up being an entertaining match. Do the title switch later, though it could be months given their taping schedule.

Rebellion is back in April.

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard. Callihan won the World Title from Brian Cage in a cage match and Tessa won a gauntlet match to earn the title shot. Tessa has faced Sami twice before but come up short both times, meaning this is her big chance at destiny and revenge at the same time. It feels like a big deal, though not the most surprising conclusion.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard

Sami is defending and is on his own for a change. We get the Big Match Intros and Sami hits a Cactus Special for two in the first ten seconds. Tessa fights out of a superplex attempt and hits Magnum for two of her own as we’re a minute into the match. A headscissors puts Sami on the floor and the suicide dive connects. Tessa snaps off a hurricanrana on the floor as the fans are WAY behind her.

The big flip dive connects as Sami hasn’t been able to do anything after the Cactus Special. He manages to drive her knees first into the barricade so Tessa has to limp back inside to beat the count. The leg is wrapped around the post a few times and Sami punches at the knee for a bonus. An Indian Deathlock takes us back to 1972 until Sami hits her in the back and lets it go. There’s another kick to the knee and Tessa is in trouble despite the fans being completely behind her.

The cockiness is strong with the champ as he stands on Tessa’s ribs to show off. Tessa tries to slug back so Sami hits her in the face. They head outside again with Tessa getting powerbombed through a table in the big crash. That’s good for nine so Tessa gets on the apron for another chop off. A superkick sets up Magnum on the apron and they’re both down on the floor again. They beat the count again but Sami is starting to look a bit desperate.

Tessa says to hit her and keeps bouncing up from the chops. Somehow Tessa manages a Samoan drop and gets two more off a second Magnum. Another Magnum misses though and the knee is banged up again. Get Outta Here gets two on Tessa and she bounces up from a German suplex. A cutter gets two on Sami but he’s right back with a sitout powerbomb into a Stretch Muffler.

That’s switched into an STF but Tessa makes the rope to escape again. Sami grabs the belt, only to have it taken away. It’s a ruse though as he busts out some brass knuckles but Tessa kicks him low. Magnum gets two more so Tessa grabs the Crossface but that’s reversed into another Cactus Special for another two. Tessa slugs away so Sami spits on her and kicks her in the face. A running Canadian Destroyer plants Sami though and the hammerlock DDT gives Tessa the pin and the title at 23:49.

Rating: B+. Another very good match here but the history is what matters in this one. They beat each other up and told a story with Tessa having to survive the knee injury and hang on against the way too arrogant Callihan. It’s still a bit of a stretch to believe that Tessa can be a physical match for the men but they’ve hidden it as well as can be expected. It’s an important moment and something that does matter, though the controversy from the weekend is going to hurt the meaning a bit.

Tessa celebrates and we’re off the air almost immediately.

Overall Rating: C+. The two bigger matches had to bail this out as some of the things they did here didn’t work. A few of them weren’t Impact’s fault but this show could have been a lot better with another rewrite. They nailed the matches that mattered though and with a few fixes, this card could have been great. What we got was good enough, though the bad things are really pretty bad. Check out the main and Elgin vs. Eddie though, as Impact gets to show what they can do when they have the chance.

Results

Ken Shamrock b. Mad Man Fulton – Rings of Saturn

Ace Austin b. Trey Miguel – The Fold

Taya Valkyrie b. ODB and Jordynne Grace – Grace Driver to ODB

Rob Van Dam b. Daga – Five Star Frog Splash

Eddie Edwards b. Michael Elgin – Sunset flip

Moose b. Rhino – No Jackhammers Needed

The North b. Willie Mack – Assisted spinebuster

Tessa Blanchard b. Sami Callihan – Hammerlock DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

It’s back to the pay per view pile for Impact and in a way, that sounds like a good thing. When Impact Wrestling cuts out all of the other nonsense and focuses on the wrestling alone, they can have a heck of a show and hopefully that is what happens here. Sometimes you don’t need to do anything more than have a bunch of good wrestling and under the right circumstances, this could be quite the show. Let’s get to it.

Ken Shamrock vs. Mad Man Fulton

Unless I missed it before, this was added to the show on Tuesday night. I’m not sure how much more gas Shamrock has in the tank but his intimidating look alone should be worth something. I can’t imagine that he’s going to be around long term but he has enough star power to validate keeping him around for the time being. That being said, Fulton has a lot of potential as a monster and Shamrock could make for a good opponent.

I’ll go with Fulton here because he has a brighter future and there is no reason to put Shamrock over him. Shamrock is already a legend and a former World Champion so putting him over Fulton doesn’t make sense. Then again, if there is one thing this company loves to do it is push older people for no logical reason. I’ll take Fulton, but there is a bit of fear in the back of my head over the whole thing.

Moose vs. Rhino

This is one of those formulas that works almost every time: take two people who can hit each other really hard and see who is left standing. It’s also a battle of the spears, with Rhino’s having more impact but Moose’s having the more clever name. Moose is in need of the big win but I’m not sure how much value there is in putting him over Rhino. That being said, I can’t imagine Rhino getting a big win on this stage.

So yeah of course it’s Moose here, as it should be. Rhino is someone who still has some name recognition and now that they’re getting him away from the ECW tributes, you can see why he’s been around as long as he has. This could be a good ten minute power brawl and Rhino can still bring it in that style. Have some fun and get the right person over and everything works out.

Tag Team Titles: The North(c) vs. Rich Swann/Willie Mack

This was the match that I was looking forward to more than any other on the card as Mack and Swann have turned into a heck of a team against a dark horse contender for the Tag Team Of The Year in 2019 in the North. Then Swann sprained his ankle last night and is unlikely for the match, meaning the whole thing is pretty much forgotten about as Mack is probably wrestling it in a handicap match.

Therefore, the North retains here and we probably get the big title match in SEVERAL weeks on Impact, assuming it happens at all. Given their marathon taping sessions, there is almost no way we’re going to be seeing Swann in the ring for months as far as Impact taping time goes and that’s a shame because he seemed ready to jump way up the ladder in the coming weeks, starting with a title win here. But alas, the North retains here (hardly a bad thing as they’ve been excellent).

Knockouts Title: Taya Valkyrie(c) vs. ODB vs. Jordynne Grace

I was completely sold on Grace ending the record long reign here, but then ODB was added to it and things started trending down (as they tend to do when she is added to almost anything). They now have an out to keep the title on Valkyrie (again: not a bad thing, which seems to be a Canadian trait), even though it is time for someone else to get into the title picture. I think you know where this is going.

I’ll play it safe and say that Valkyrie retains the title, likely by defeating ODB. Maybe they can even throw in a bonus by having Grace hit the Grace Driver so Valkyrie can steal the pin. I’m not entirely sure why ODB needs to be involved in this, though if it’s to give her a hand after her food truck burned down, I can get over my lack of caring for her. Anyway, I’m not thrilled about this one, but Valkyrie is likely retaining to lose to Grace in a singles match later.

Brian Cage vs. Rob Van Dam

I wasn’t big on Van Dam returning as he is way past his prime and has been around for so long that a lot of the luster is gone. However, I’ve dug the heck out of his crazy self-absorbed heel character as he’s selling the heck out of it. While I could go for a little less Katie Forbes, Van Dam’s stuff has been great and I’m enjoying his promos more than I have in years.

As for the match…..dang I’m not sure. This is the kind of thing that should be Cage in a walk but Van Dam has been so awesome in everything he’s done that it could go either way. I think I’ll actually take Van Dam, just for the sake of giving him something else to talk about. Cage shouldn’t be losing again, but they’ve got an intriguing match here, provided they can make the in-ring stuff work.

Call Your Shot Trophy: Eddie Edwards(c) vs. Michael Elgin

This is basically Money In The Bank but for any title, which very well could play a role later in the show. The idea here is that Elgin wants the World Title and is willing to take shortcuts to get there. He already beat Edwards in a rather good match on Impact and now he wants to do it again for the trophy. I like the idea of having to defend the thing, even though it has barely been mentioned since Edwards won the thing.

I’ll take Elgin to win here, even if it’s two big losses in a row for Edwards. The good thing about him is that he’s almost bulletproof in Impact and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Elgin on the other hand seems to be in a place where he needs to win the World Title or find something else to do, and winning the Trophy could get him a big step closer to being champion.

X-Division Title: Ace Austin(c) vs. Trey Miguel

There aren’t many people who have been as bizarre as Austin in recent months. He’s gone from apparently being an adult actor to hitting on Miguel’s mom while also winning the title. I’m not sure which of those is weirder, but here we are with one of the first actual stories about the title in months. That might not be the best story in the world, but at least it’s something for a change.

I’ll go with Austin retaining here, partially because I like him and partially because I want to see Miguel’s mom turn on him. It would be hilarious to see if nothing else, though I do need to see the Rascalz get somewhere sooner or later. This very well may be where it takes place, but I’m not sure if that’s what’s going to happen. Give me Austin to retain, though I’m not very confident in it.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan(c) vs. Tessa Blanchard

And then, as usual, something has to happen to mess everything up around here. In this case it isn’t Impact’s fault, but that never stopped the bad news before. In this case, Blanchard seemed all primed and ready to win the title but then there was yesterday’s Twitter fiasco that might cause some major issues for the company should they give her some big push.

That being said, I’ll go with Blanchard winning and then Elgin cashing in his newly won trophy for an immediate title shot. Therefore, Blanchard gets her win, a Canadian gets to be World Champion and we can move forward to Blanchard chasing the title again after things have cooled down a bit. It’s not the smartest thing in the world, but it’s the most protection they can have at the moment.

Overall Thoughts

I was looking forward to this show a lot more about thirty six hours ago before the Swann injury and the Blanchard drama but you should know better than to expect something like this to work out well. It really does feel like the company is cursed at times and even when they have been doing so much better as of late, it doesn’t seem like they can ever shake off the curse that follows them everywhere.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 7, 2020
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to a regular show and it’s the go home edition before Hard To Kill. The card is mostly set but there is always the chance that something could be added at the last minute. It’s kind of a weird situation as we are coming off back to back Best Of shows, meaning there isn’t much momentum for the pay per view at the moment. Maybe they can get in one last push though. Let’s get to it.

We open with Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards having to be pulled apart at ringside. Eddie is willing to fight him right now and hits a dive.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Edwards vs. Michael Elgin

They’re still fighting on the floor as Eddie has to hurricanrana his way out of a powerbomb attempt. They chop it out until Elgin scores with a superkick and throws it inside for the opening bell. Eddie grabs an atomic drop but an enziguri in the corner sets up a stomp to the chest for two. A German suplex attempt doesn’t work for Eddie as Elgin grabs him by the head and flips him forward with raw power.

Eddie goes technical by countering a suplex into one of his own followed by the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. A Rock Bottom/Boss Man Slam plants Eddie again and the Falcon Arrow gives Elgin two of his own. They strike it out in the corner with some chops and clotheslines before slugging it out in the middle. Elgin snaps off a German suplex but Eddie pops back up for a Boston Knee Party to the back of the head.

We take a break and come back with Eddie hitting another Boston Knee Party to put them both down. Eddie gets two off a tiger bomb and goes up, where he has to sunset bomb his way out of a super White Noise. Elgin blasts him with a clothesline for two more but can’t get a Crossface. Instead he settles for the Buckle Bomb into the Elgin Bomb for the pin at 19:43.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and the story made sense with Elgin using raw power while Eddie stuck and moved by getting in everything he could where he could. They didn’t waste time here and just went at it full blast for the twenty minutes and the match was very entertaining as result. As usual, the talent is strong around here and if they drop the nonsense and have good matches, it’s very entertaining stuff.

Video on the Tag Team Title match with Rich Swann and Willie Mack earning the title shot, leaving the North to try and play mind games to split them up.

Elgin vs. Edwards again on Sunday, this time with Edwards’ Call Your Shot trophy on the line. Oh yeah he has that.

Desi Hit Squad vs. Fallah Bahh/TJP/Daga

Raj kicks away at Daga to start so Daga runs the ropes and hurricanranas him to the floor. Raju comes in and gets dropkicked down for one so it’s off to Bahh and TJP for a double back elbow. TJP nips up and Bahh….well he tried at least. They run the ropes over Raju and Bahh gets rather winded, just in case you didn’t get the joke the first time around. A DDT plants Daga and it’s Shera coming in to powerbomb Raju onto Daga for two.

It’s already back to Raj for a dropkick to the head and a backsplash for two of his own. TJP comes back in for a springboard dropkick as everything breaks down. Daga’s springboard wristdrag/headscissors combination puts Shera and Singh on the floor, setting up the big dive. Bahh’s suicide dive takes them down again but Shera hits his Sky High for the pin on TJP at 7:59.

Rating: C+. The Squad did look better here but there’s no way around how uninteresting they are. Their entire characters are “we’re from India and managed by a legend” and I need a lot more than that to care about someone. The match was pretty good, but give me something else to sink my teeth into with them.

Willie Mack comes in to see Rich Swann and says he might not be healthy for the Tag Team Title match. He doesn’t want to hold Swann back from realizing his full potential but Swann wants to win the titles.

OVE is ready to take over wrestling, starting with Mad Man Fulton beating Ken Shamrock on Sunday and Sami Callihan getting rid of Tessa Blanchard once and for all.

Johnny Swinger spikes Joey Ryan’s drink when Tommy Dreamer comes in and tells him to grow up. If Swinger didn’t do anything to Ryan’s drink, he can drink it himself. I’m sure hilarity will ensue.

Video on the X-Division Title match with Ace Austin hitting on Trey’s mom in a rather creepy way.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard with Sami finally getting the World Title and Tessa trying to make history. This includes interviews from Tessa’s family, who has worked very hard to get here. Sami on the other hand only cared about wrestling and has done everything to get here. He’ll do anything to keep the title too. Sami doesn’t like it, but sometimes dreams don’t come true and Tessa will learn that on Sunday. Very good video, though it did a little too good of a job at making me like Sami, which wasn’t exactly the point.

James Mitchell locks Susie in a locker room so she can’t interfere in Havok’s match.

Havok vs. Rosemary

Rosemary screams and slugs away to start so Havok shoves her down. That just makes Rosemary jump on her back for more right hands before avoiding a charge to low bridge Havok to the floor. Michell’s distraction fails as Havok runs him over by mistake, only to catch Rosemary with a backbreaker inside. Cue Susie, who seems messed up by all of the noise. She winds up on commentary as Havok beats up Rosemary in the corner. A missed splash lets Rosemary get in a few shots but Mitchell gets Susie away from commentary. Havok hits the Tombstone for the pin at 5:11 as Mitchell covers Susie’s eyes.

Rating: D+. This was all angle stuff and that’s fine, though this story feels like it has been going on for years now. Mitchell trying to keep Su Yung from returning is certainly a twist, but I’m almost worried about how long they’re going to drag this whole thing out. It’s not bad and does keep things somewhat interesting, but I’m not sure how much of a goal they have with the thing.

ODB/Tenille Dashwood/Jordynne Grace vs. Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne/Taya Valkyrie

Dashwood and Rayne start things off as Callis goes into Madison’s insane resume (73 time Knockouts Champion and an honorary Hart). Tenille throws her outside and it’s Grace coming in for two off an Implant Buster. Hogan gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Taya comes in for an elbow to the face.

A kick to Grace’s back gets two so ODB….rubs her chest. Grace runs Hogna over and dives over for the tag to ODB for a lot more chest based offense. A double Bronco Buster hits Taya and Madison and there’s a TKO to Taya as well. Grace adds a Vader Bomb but since she isn’t legal, ODB throws her outside and gets the pin at 5:16.

Rating: D+. Not much here as they were rushed and could have done this as a tag match without Dashwood and Hogan involved. ODB still feels really, really tacked on to the Knockouts Title match, meaning there is a good chance that Taya escapes before dropping the title to Grace later on.

Grace isn’t happy.

Moose interrupts Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes to make sure he can trust Rob tonight. They leave and Swinger is passed out on a couch. Joey Ryan and Petey Williams come in to draw something on him.

Hard To Kill rundown.

Moose/Rob Van Dam vs. Brian Cage/Rhino

Katie is here with Van Dam and Moose. Van Dam starts with Cage but decides that Moose can do it instead. Cage hits a superkick and spinebuster so it’s off to Rhino for a WOO. Rhino shouts to the crowd a lot and hammers away in the corner as the pace slows a good bit. A clothesline puts Moose on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Moose being sent onto the ramp but Katie breaks up the Gore so the villains can take over. Moose bites Rhino’s head and hammers away but can’t get a suplex. Rhino can hit a suplex of his own though and it’s Cage coming in for the staredown with Van Dam. A German suplex puts Van Dam down but Moose runs Cage over. Everything breaks down and Van Dam kicks Cage in the face for two.

These fans aren’t good enough to see Rolling Thunder so Van Dam is sent outside, leaving Moose to slug it out with Rhino. Cage takes Rhino’s place and hits a tornado DDT to put Moose down. Van Dam kicks Cage in the face but walks into the Gore. A missed charge puts Rhino down as well but Moose misses his own Five Star. The Gore and a discus lariat are enough to finish Moose at 12:23.

Rating: C+. They didn’t waste time here and just had four people hit each other for a somewhat lengthy match. Moose taking the pin makes more sense here and they did a nice job of setting up both matches at once. That’s something that will always work as you get to build two matches while also keeping things fresh. Nicely done here in a bit of a surprisingly good match.

Long video on Hard To Kill wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a rather good go home show as they covered everything on Sunday, added another match, and made me want to see the pay per view more than I did coming in. Some of the stuff felt like it could have been cut (that six man and Havok vs. Rosemary could have been on any other show) but overall, it was more good than bad and the opener was rather entertaining. Nice job here, but make sure the pay per view is even better.

Results

Michael Elgin b. Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb

Desi Hit Squad b. Fallah Bahh/TJP/Daga – Sky High to TJP

Havok b. Rosemary – Tombstone

ODB/Tenille Dashwood/Jordynne Grace b. Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne/Taya Valkyrie – Vader Bomb to Rayne

Brian Cage/Rhino b. Moose/Rob Van Dam – Discus lariat to Moose

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 28, 2019
Hosts: Josh Matthews, Scott D’Amore

It’s the Best Of 2019 and that means we could be in for an interesting night. There have been some good things going on this year and hopefully we can see where things are going to be heading in the future. Impact has had a solid year and now they can showcase it a little bit. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Josh and Scott welcome us to the show, which is week #1 of 2.

From Homecoming:

Eddie Edwards vs. Moose

Falls Count Anywhere. Eddie jumps him during the entrances, as he should because he’s not the kind of guy who would wait for a bell here. Moose catches the suicide dive though and Eddie gets TOSSED into the steps. Back to back powerbombs on the floor and apron give Moose two and it’s time to load up the steps, plus a piece of barricade between the ring and the regular barricade.

Another powerbomb is countered and Eddie takes it back to the floor, this time heading into the crowd. The fans want them to come OVER HERE, though I’d settle for a camera staying on them. What looked like a beer can to Moose’s head makes him walk even more but Moose whips him into some steps to the upper deck. Eddie of course hits a dive off the balcony but would rather chop Moose than cover him.

Back to ringside with Eddie getting knocked off the apron, sending him face first into the barricade. A bunch of chairs are thrown in and Moose posts Eddie to keep him down. Eddie is busted open (as he should be) and Moose bites at the cut (as he shouldn’t be). For some reason Moose goes up, allowing Eddie to pelt a chair at his head. The chairs are piled up and a top rope superplex drops both guys onto them for the huge crash.

Rating: B-. This was pretty close to the violent fight that it should have been and hopefully it wraps up the feud once and for all. There’s no reason to keep things going and Eddie winning is a pretty definitive finish. Alisha accepting Eddie’s violence and helping with the beatdown was a nice touch, especially since there was no Raven to get involved here.

Happy Holidays from Impact Wrestling.

Some wrestlers talk about their favorite Christmas memory.

From Bound For Glory.

X-Division Title: Daga vs. Jake Crist vs. Tessa Blanchard vs. Acey Romero vs. Ace Austin

Crist is defending in a ladder match and the debuting Acey weighs about 400lbs. Jake gets stared at to start until Ace and Daga superkick Romero into the corner. Tessa unloads on Crist and hits the suicide dive to the floor to take him out. She does it two more times, only to have Ace dive onto both of them. Romero dropkicks Daga, who corkscrew dives over Romero to take everyone down on the floor.

Tessa is back in with a springboard dropkick to knock Austin outside but Romero Samoan drops her off the ladder. Daga teeter totters the ladder into Romero’s face and then bridges it between the ring and the barricade. Let’s throw in a table for a bonus (and a spot on a Bingo card) but before it gets used, Romero hits a Tower of Doom onto almost everyone else.

A powerbomb sends Austin hard into the ladder and Romero teases to climb, but pulls out another one to climb two at once. Crist breaks that up with a super cutter, leaving us with Tessa and Daga for the double climb. Austin shoves both of them down but gets Death Valley Driven by Daga. That’s not it as Daga hits a running Canadian Destroyer to Crist on the bridged ladder.

Romero goes up but Tessa shoves the ladder over to DESTROY the table, with the ladder crashing over the top as well. Tessa is all alone but here’s the rest of OVE to make the save but Tessa hurricanrana Madman Fulton into the ladder. Jake is knocked through another table but Austin hits Tessa with his baton and steals the title at 17:24.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun as they didn’t waste time setting up spots and flew from one thing to another. The selling wasn’t around but when you just ignore it for most of the match, it kind of starts to work in a weird way. That being said, they have to give Tessa the win at some point because you can only tease it so many times before the fans stop caring. They cared here, but I’m not sure how much longer that can happen. Romero did well here, though you can hear Fallah Bahh crying from here.

Wrestlers discuss Christmas traditions.

We’re also doing some awards this week, with Taya Valkyrie being named Knockout of the Year. Who else was it going to be? Other than maybe Tessa? Anyway, Taya and her dog are rather pleased.

Wrestlers talk about Christmas carols.

From Homecoming.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. Lucha Bros

LAX is defending and there’s no Konnan in sight. Fenix and Santana start things off in a feeling out process. A very fast armdrag sends Santana into the ropes for a kick to the back from Pentagon and it’s a double superkick on Santana with Fenix hitting a crazy hard suicide dive on Ortiz. Santana gets back up and sends Fenix outside for a kick to Pentagon’s head, followed by the backsplash from Ortiz.

Pentagon goes outside as well and Santana hits a top rope Asai moonsault to take him right back down. Back in and a Lionsault/legdrop combination gets two on Pentagon as they’ve certainly started fast. Fenix saves his brother from a double suplex and the champs are sat outside on the ramp. Pentagon throws a charging Fenix onto both of them before hitting his own no hands flip dive onto the pile.

Back in and a Codebreaker/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Ortiz. Santana comes back in and hits a reverse powerbomb into a top rope splash but Pentagon runs in for the crazy save with a step up Canadian Destroyer (GEEZ) to put everyone down. Ortiz and Pentagon slap it out and it’s a series of running kicks to put all four down again.

The Bros get back up first with the spike Fear Factor to Santana, though Ortiz is a bit late with the save and Santana has to kick out on his own. The Street Sweeper hits Pentagon with Fenix diving in with a dropkick for the save. A rolling cutter into a Codebreaker into a superkick finishes Fenix out of nowhere to retain the titles at 10:48.

Rating: B+. It’s the most entertaining thing on the card so far but this didn’t hit the heights they should have reached. It needed another five to ten minutes as I was expecting this to be nearly twice as long. What we got was good, but it wasn’t built up, making the match feel like it was designed to be a classic instead of just being a classic. Very good, but it could have been a lot more.

Wrestlers talk about their favorite gifts.

Willie Mack is named Star to Watch in 2020.

From Cali Combat on August 23.

Willie Mack vs. Trey Miguel

They circle each other to start and we get a handshake, resulting in Mack being pulled into a headlock. Willie reverses into a Samoan drop into a standing moonsault as the audio and video are a little out of sync. Trey blocks a running chop in the corner and hits a springboard hurricanrana to send Willie into the other corner.

Mack is right back up with a reverse Cannonball in the corner. The Stunner is blocked so Trey grabs a jumping neckbreaker for two instead. They slug it out from their knees with Mack getting the better of it, only to get caught in the corner for a Cheeky Nandos kick. Trey goes up top but dives into a Stunner for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C+. This was just a way to showcase Mack as he (mostly) hit the cool finisher for the pin. I’m not sure how far he can go, but the talent and charisma are going to be enough to drive him pretty far up the ladder. Trey held up his end here too and it was a rather nice little match.

Wrestlers on what they want for Christmas.

From Bound For Glory.

Michael Elgin vs. Naomichi Marufuji

Or Marufugi according to the name graphic. Come on with that stuff people. Neither can hit a chop to start so Marufuji misses some chops and kicks to get us to an early standoff. Elgin misses a charge in the corner and gets chopped a bit but he catches a charging Marufuji in a suplex. A missile dropkick sends Marufuji flying for two and the fans aren’t pleased with Elgin being in control. They chop it out with Marufuji knocking him to the floor and hits the big flip dive.

Back in and a running stomp to the head gives Marufuji two but he has to flip out of a German suplex attempt. Elgin sends him into the ropes and snaps off the German suplex this time, setting up a Falcon Arrow for two. They trade kicks to the head and it’s a double knockdown with Marufuji in the better shape of the two. A sunset bomb to the floor is blocked so Marufuji superkicks Elgin in the back of the head instead.

Sliced Bread on the floor gets a nine so it’s a top rope stomp to the back of the head for two (counting in wrestling is weird). There’s a dragon suplex to drop Marufuji and a discus lariat takes his head off. Splash Mountain gets two and the shock is strong. Another Sliced Bread drops Elgin again but Marufuji can’t get him up for a tiger bomb.

Instead it’s time to slug it out again with Marufuji picking up the intensity of the strikes to take over. That’s fine with Elgin, who blocks a kick and powerbombs him down for two. The buckle bomb into the Elgin Bomb gets two and Elgin is STUNNED in a great visual. The Burning Hammer finally puts Marufuji away at 18:04.

Rating: B. Yeah that’s what you should have been expecting here as they beat the fire out of each other for the better part of twenty minutes. Elgin is just such a powerhouse and I’ve liked Marufuji from the times I’ve seen him before. It isn’t the style of wrestling I like most of the time but for a one off, this was very entertaining.

The Moment of the Year is Sami Callihan winning the World Title on the AXS TV.

From Impact, October 29.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Sami Callihan vs. Brian Cage

Cage is defending in a cage….match. Callihan (with Melissa written on his vest) kicks the cage door into his head to start but Cage is right back with a powerbomb into the cage wall. Sami finally escapes and gets inside where he locks the cage, thinking that Brian can’t climb the wall. That stupid plan falls apart in about three seconds so Callihan gets in a baseball bat shot to take over.

Cage is busted open and Callihan bites at the forehead, followed by some bat shots to the ribs. Another running bat shot just wakes Brian up and a missed charge sends Sami into the steel. Back from a break with both of them down again until they start exchanging some strikes to the face. A spit slap annoys Cage even more but Callihan drops him with a clothesline for two anyway.

The Cactus Special gets one though as Cage is livid again. A powerbomb into a buckle bomb looks to set up the Drill Claw but Sami reverses into a small package for two. Sami hits a series of hard knees and kicks to the head, setting up rolling piledrivers….for two more. Yeah we’ve reached the ridiculous point, especially if Sami wins here. Cage is back up with a discus lariat for two of his own but Callihan crotches him on top. The super Cactus Special gives Callihan the pin and the title at 14:06.

Rating: B-. They went one near fall too many here and it took me out of the match a bit, but they did a good job of making Callihan look like the monster to finally stop Cage. He seems to be Cage’s Kryptonite and that is a good role for Callihan to play. You had to give him a World Title reign at some point and they pulled the trigger at the right time. It was a good enough match too and they have had a good story to get here.

Overall Rating: B+. This is the kind of show that works like a charm most of the time and Impact had the matches this year to make it work. They’ll be doing something similar next week and it was nice to have this kind of talent getting the attention it deserves. I liked this one quite a bit and it was entertaining throughout, which is the point of a show like this.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 3, 2019
Location: Melrose Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Don Callis

We’re back to the future this week with the regular show after the awesome special edition last week. It’s more of the build towards Hard To Kill and two weeks ago saw Tessa Blanchard win a gauntlet match to become #1 contender to the World Title. Things need to start getting back to normal around here and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the gauntlet match, thankfully with Rich Swann getting some earned screen time.

Michael Elgin is going to let off some steam after getting disqualified last week.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Cage

They fight over a wristlock to start until Cage headlock takeovers him down. Cage runs Eddie into the corner with ease but gets sidestepped out to the floor. The hurricanrana off the apron is countered into a powerbomb which is countered into the hurricanrana into the barricade. Back in and Cage snaps off a belly to belly to take over again and Eddie’s back is bent over Cage’s knee.

Eddie is fine enough to counter a suplex into one of his own to take over. Some chops in the corner rock Cage and another hurricanrana keeps him down. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Eddie is banged up too. Something close to an AA gives Cage two and we hit that Terminator clap. Eddie kicks him in the head but gets clotheslined down for a double knockdown. And never mind as here’s Michael Elgin to clothesline them both down for the double DQ at 8:40.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one and that is no surprise given that Eddie was in there. He’s the kind of guy who can have a good match with anyone and that is what he did here. Cage was holding up his end as well with all of the power moves throwing Eddie all over the place. It can be tricky to use someone like Cage but Eddie knew exactly what to do here and it worked rather well.

Post match Elgin stomps both of them down but we have something new.

Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin

Sure why not. Elgin gets double teamed to start but Eddie sends both monsters to the floor for a suicide dive. Not to be outdone, Cage is right back with his own no hands flip dive to take both of them down. Back in and it’s time to trade shots to the face, including a series of superkicks, to put everyone down again. Elgin slips out of Cage’s suplex and plants Eddie before dropkicking him out to the floor.

Cage is knocked outside as well and it’s a big spinning flip dive to take out Cage and Edwards as we take a break. Back with a Tower of Doom being broken up so Eddie settles for a Backpack Stunner for two on Cage. Elgin isn’t about to get caught in a half crab so it’s Cage back up to deck both of them. Edwards gets planted for two and it’s time for a short breather. It’s Elgin back up with a dragon suplex to Cage and running clotheslines in the corner.

A Falcon Arrow gets two on Cage but he’s right back with the sitout Alabama Slam for the same on Elgin. Cage runs into the Boston Knee Party and a tiger bomb to give Eddie two and he’s rather surprised by the kickout. Elgin takes a running knee to the back of the head but Cage clotheslines Eddie for a three way knockdown. Cage gets crotched on top though and it’s a Boston Knee party on the ropes for a bit knockdown. Elgin no sells a German suplex though and the Elgin Bomb to Eddie is good for the pin at 15:18.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as all three were working hard. The best thing here was just how much they were all trying, which is something you would expect out of all of them. Elgin winning makes perfect sense and it’s a match where everyone comes out looking good. I’m not sure what is next for any of them but I could go for seeing more from any combination of these three.

Watch No Surrender!

The Rascalz are in the clubhouse and Trey Miguel does not like Ace Austin hitting on his mom. Cue mom, with Trey asking her to stay out of the arena. Moms don’t go to work you see. She’s down with that and promises meatloaf. The rest of the team goes with her, and now I want meatloaf too.

Moose plays basketball and puts one of the players through the hoop.

Josh Matthews brings ODB to the ring, as the company is trying to do something for her after her food truck was destroyed. She has been making her living with the truck for years now but then it caught on fire and everything had to be started over again. Her insurance company isn’t paying anything for some reason but she has a home here in Impact.

Cue Taya Valkyrie and John E. Bravo to mockingly welcome her back. Yes ODB is a four time Knockouts Champion but Taya is the greatest Knockout of all time and this is her show. She spends more on spilled drinks than ODB spends on barbecue sauce all year. Taya plugs the Indiegogo campaign and tells ODB to get out of here. The fight is on but Bravo saves Taya from the beating.

Later tonight: Taya vs. ODB.

We go to a press conference (minus the press of course) for the official announcement of Blanchard vs. Callihan. Blanchard says she’s a professional and will put Callihan down. Callihan doesn’t like her because she’s a spoiled brat. He’s been doing this for fifteen years and she has had everything handed to her. At Hard To Kill, it’s another title defense on the resume and he’s “cracking her f****** skull.”

Reno Scum/Ace Austin vs. Rascalz

Mama Miguel is in the crowd. Trey goes with rapid fire punches on Thornstowe to start and snaps off the hurricanrana to send him into the corner. Austin comes in and tries a playing card but Trey scares him to the floor in a hurry. Thornstowe comes back in and gets hit with a series of flips and dives from the Rascalz with Luster having to make a save. Luster plants Dez with a suplex and Thrownstowe adds a standing moonsault for two more.

Austin even gets to taunt Trey a bit but Dez gets in a kick to the face and the diving tag brings Trey in. Everything breaks down and it’s a series of strikes to crush Austin. Wentz dives onto Luster and Trey dives onto everyone else. Hold on though as Austin goes to hit on Mama Miguel, meaning it’s a tackle from Miguel himself. The distraction lets Thornstowe roll Wentz up with trunks for the pin at 8:38.

Rating: C+. They were flying all over the place here with Austin and Miguel being the real stars. The idea of hitting on Miguel’s mom is an interesting way of going about things and certainly different than what they usually do for the title. I’m still not sure how Austin as the modern Val Venis works but it’s certainly a change of pace.

ODB isn’t worried about wrecking Taya tonight but will leave Jordynne Grace a piece. Grace gives her money and leaves.

Johnny Swinger rants to Joey Ryan about how the young guys are ruining everything. He suggests a kliq and Ryan….actually agrees. They’ll use hand signals to cheat tonight.

Here are Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes for a chat. Katie shakes a lot and introduces him as the sexiest man in the world. Rob knows he needs to explain a few things but no one would get it because no one knows what it’s like to have everyone want to be him. How many people do they cheer for when they steal his moves?

Cue Tommy Dreamer (Callis: “Dreamer just can’t help himself.”) to say Rob and Rhino should fight next week, like we used to here in Queens. Rob isn’t sold and wants to know why Dreamer can’t stop living in the past. Uh, a need to eat and he can’t do anything else? Anyway, Van Dam has his girlfriend (and his girlfriend’s girlfriend) to take care of so he’s ready to go. Cue Rhino to go after Rob but the referees break it u.

We look at Rich Swann in the gauntlet match again.

Willie Mack is proud of Swann but Rich admits that it was Tessa’s night. Now they want the Tag Team Titles so here are the North to mockingly applaud Swann. Rich and Willie are ready to win the Tag Team Open next week and get the titles at Hard To Kill.

Fallah Bahh isn’t happy with the Desi Hit Squad but he’s still here.

Flashback Moment of the Week: ODB beats Mickie James to win the Knockouts Title in 2013.

James Mitchell introduces Susie to Jessika Havok. They’ll be fine as long as Susie doesn’t invade her personal space.

Johnny Swinger vs. Petey Williams

Swinger offers a handshake but Petey catches the cheap shot to the ribs. Petey snaps off a headscissors and hits a dropkick to the back to put Swinger on the floor. Back in and Swinger hammers away before dropping a headbutt to the lower abdomen. The elbows miss though and Petey hits the slingshot Codebreaker. That’s enough for Swinger to call for Ryan to help him but instead he has to flip out of the Canadian Destroyer attempt. The Swinger Neckbreaker is countered into the Sharpshooter to give Petey the fast win at 3:17.

Rating: D-. Yeah I’m not sure why they put Swinger in the ring but at least his vignettes have been funny at times. The problem with a joke like this is that there doesn’t seem to be much of a payoff other than what will probably be a lame comedy bit. The idea of Swinger vs. Ryan gives me hives so you can probably pencil it in for the pay per view.

Taya Valkyrie vs. ODB

ODB misses a running charge in the corner and there’s the Stinkface for a bonus. Something close to an STF sends ODB over to the ropes and it’s time for some choking. ODB bites her face though and sits up top for the Dirty Dozen (I had forgotten that one). The Bronco Buster hits but Bravo wants a shot from the flask. He and ODB share a drink but Taya gets in a cheap shot. Cue Grace to grab the title, allowing ODB to get a rollup and the pin on Taya at 10:14.

Rating: D. Oh yeah I had forgotten how much I dislike ODB. She’s annoying, she’s loud, she isn’t that great in the ring and now she’s pinning the champ. Yes it’s a charity deal but you couldn’t have this be a DQ or a countout? It’s not like ODB is going to be wrestling full time or anything so keep the champ looking a little stronger maybe?

Overall Rating: C. This is one of the most evenly laid out shows I’ve ever seen with a very good first hour and then a bounce off the rocks at the bottom of a cliff for the second. The ODB stuff was fine in small doses but I was sick of her all over again by the end. They have a lot of time to set up Hard To Kill, but this wasn’t the best start as they head towards the pay per view. The double match at the start is good, but egads it falls apart after that six man tag.

Results

Eddie Edwards vs. Brian Cage went to a double DQ when Michael Elgin interfered

Michael Elgin b. Brian Cage and Eddie Edwards – Elgin Bomb to Edwards

Reno Scum/Ace Austin b. Rascalz – Rollup with trunks to Wentz

Petey Williams vs. Johnny Swinger – Sharpshooter

ODB b. Taya Valkyrie – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6